Tony Adams, niekdajšia stálica Arsenalu a anglickej reprezentácie, sa nikdy netajil tým, že jeho kariéru výrazne sprevádzal alkohol. Bývalý stredný obranca spomína, ako sa ocitol na dne a následne opäť postavil na nohy.
Korai jelek és pályafutás alatti küzdelmek
After starting out on lager shandies, Adams’ drinking slowly consumed him. Adams had torn a knee meniscus in the February and didn’t play for Arsenal again that season, but Venables was counting on him for the tournament, which began in early June. By the mid-nineties, Adams’ alcoholism was beginning to impede his performance on the pitch. His drinking extended beyond the Arsenal squad’s notorious nights out. “We had a Tuesday Club,” says Adams. “They just didn’t realise I had a Monday and Thursday one as well.”
When Adams returned to the pitch in a reserves game against Reading, 7,000 fans turned up to watch. He was hailed as a homecoming hero. If he had a problem, he didn’t want to know it. “I avoided everyone that told me,” Adams admits - including team-mates. “The Lee Dixons of the world were going, ‘Tone, what the f**k are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘You’re a bit weird’, ‘Martin Keown’s a bit strange’. You ignore people because you don’t want to look at yourself.”
A mélypont: 1996 és a következmények
Rok 1996 bol pre Adamsa hrozný, jeden z najhorších, aké si pamätá. „Mal som 29 rokov a nechcel som byť na tomto svete,“ priznal v rozhovore pre The Guardian. Zranenie vo februári mu spôsobilo ešte väčšie problémy s alkoholom: „Vedel som, že som úplne uväznený, a bola to najhoršia situácia, v akej som kedy bol. V marci mi odobrali deti. V ich blízkosti som nepil, ale v nedeľu večer som odpadol. Vypil som sedem fliaš vína. Tak mi svokra zobrala deti.“
Before the tournament, Adams met then England manager Terry Venables at Scott’s restaurant in the affluent Mayfair district of central London to discuss tactics and player selection. A little overwhelmed at the prospect of a one-to-one with his international football boss, Adams went to a pub beforehand to sink a couple of pints. “I was looking at his drink and thought it was water, so I said I’ll have a water,” says Adams. “It was a f***ing gin and tonic. I thought, ‘S**t, I could have had a drink!’.”
When it came to those Euros in 1996, he knew his only choice was abstinence - “white-knuckling it”. He managed to get through the preparations and tournament without touching alcohol, sated by football, his “first addiction”. As it was, the end of the tournament saw Adams embark on the six-week binge that would see his behaviour reach new depths. In the wake of their elimination, England’s players commiserated with booze. Adams broke his abstinence. And unlike most of his team-mates, he found himself unable to stop.
Ku koncu som už videl veci vyliezať zo skríň, bol som paranoidný. Myslel som si, že niekto je v dome, aj keď tam nikto nebol. Myslel som si, že zabíjam ľudí,“ spomína Adams na hrôzostrašné momenty. He went straight from the tournament into a 44-day bender that included blackouts, cocaine and sex workers. And then, against the odds, he emerged on the other side.
A felismerés és a segítség keresése
Tony Adams served four months in HMP Chelmsford in 1990 for drink-driving, but continued to drink for another six years. „When I went to prison in 1990 for drink-driving, not one person came up to me and said, ‘Do you think you’ve got a problem with alcohol?’“
Tá istá svokra dala anglickej legende kontakt na Jamesa W. a jeho stav sa zlepšil, ale po EURO 1996 sa mu podarilo ešte viac prehĺbiť svoju závislosť. „Do vrecka mi dala papierik s jeho číslom. Potom sme mali EURO a vďaka futbalu sa mi podarilo zostať čistý a triezvy. In that same year he began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and thanked his mother-in-law: „Zachránila mi život. V auguste 96 som išiel za Jamesom a prihlásil som sa k anonymným alkoholikom. He went on to attend 90 of them in 90 days.
Adams was picked up by a precious support network. James West, a friend and former addict, offered counsel. Arsenal team-mate Paul Merson encouraged Adams to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He went on to attend 90 of them in 90 days. When Adams acknowledged his alcoholism and started out on the path to sobriety, Wenger casually told him he’d had a good career considering he had only been playing at “70 per cent of his capacity”.
Újjászületés, segítő szervezetek és karitatív munka
It's one of the reasons why I set up Sporting Chance in 2000, it was designed to support athletes and sportspeople also struggling with addiction. More recently, I launched Six Mental Health Addiction, which was aimed at the corporate world to help employees deal with issues around addiction. What I’ve learned through these endeavours is that addiction doesn’t discriminate - even if you’re a Premier League captain. But with the right support, #RecoveryIsPossible - as Forward likes to say.
Tony Adams runs the Sporting Chance clinic. His Sporting Chance clinic continues to offer support to athletes suffering from addiction or mental-health concerns. Under his SIX banner, named after the shirt number he wore in his Arsenal playing days, Adams is extending support to those outside of sport, too. He hopes his honesty will help others make that change.
As someone who’s been there and done it - battled addiction, felt the shame, done time - I know exactly how tough that fight can be. My own struggles with alcoholism nearly cost me everything, but, I got help from some incredible people and I managed to find a way through. My recovery has fuelled my desire and determination to help inspire and enable others to do the same.
Közéleti szerepvállalás és jelenlegi tevékenységek
This February 2025, The Forward Trust officially welcomes Tony Adams MBE into the coveted role of Chair of Trustees. Tony replaces The Right Honourable David Bernstein, who has decided to step down after 12 incredibly successful years of service. Taking on the role of Chair of Trustees at The Forward Trust is a real privilege. It’s a responsibility that I don’t take lightly, and one that means a great deal to me personally. My connection with this brilliant organisation goes all the way back to 1996. In the years since, I’ve witnessed the incredible impact that The Forward Trust has on helping people to turn their lives around.
People will ask, “Why The Forward Trust, Tony?" Firstly, I’ve been involved with the charity for nearly 30 years. I am deeply connected to its vision that anyone - whatever their history or circumstances - should have the opportunity and support to live a positive life that fulfils their potential, and to inspire others to follow the same path. The Forward Trust’s drug, alcohol, and gambling programmes, combined with employment opportunities and housing support, help thousands of people each year. I want to help steer its growth and lend even more support to its campaigns Taking Action on Addiction and More Than My Past.
I'm an ex-offender. It's the holy trinity for me, getting people employed and in housing. I recovered from alcohol addiction 29 years ago now. For me, this isn’t just about leadership - it’s about using my experience to inspire and support those who feel lost, stuck, or written off. I truly believe that with the right help, anyone can turn their life around.
Könyv, emlékezés és személyes üzenet
The former Arsenal and England defender is marking the anniversary with a new book: ‘1996: Reflections on the year that changed my life’, co-authored with collaborator and friend Ian Ridley. “You read the first half of this book, you’re like, ‘How is this person still alive?’,” says Adams, speaking to reporters ahead of its April 14 release. It has been 30 years since 1996. For Tony Adams, that has a special significance. Thirty years since the darkest depths of his alcoholism, and 30 years since his last drop of alcohol. As Adams puts it, it’s “30 years off hurt”.
“I put everything down and started to work through the fear and the self-loathing,” says Adams. “I lived on my own, got to know myself, warts and all, and realised that I’ve still got a big nose, but it’s OK to have a big nose. I didn’t have an alcohol problem. I had a me problem. I fixed me, and I started to like myself a bit, and, hallelujah, I didn’t need to fix.”
What Tony Adams said to David Beckham after England were knocked out of France '98
Hatás a futballkultúrára és a függőség megítélése
Adams now believes his drinking - and that of his team-mates - stopped that Arsenal team from hitting greater heights. “We won the First Division (the domestic title in those pre-Premier League days) in ’91, but we didn’t win the league again until I sobered up,” he points out. “We had five years of just being a good cup team.“A lot of the lads were drinking heavily with me. Two or three of us are now in recovery. That’s probably a good representation of society - 10 per cent.”
Football culture has evolved in the three decades since the height of Adams’ playing career. Alcohol is less pervasive, at least among players. It is the pernicious presence of gambling that threatens the modern athlete. “It’s an epidemic within football and society,” says Adams. “It’s the new drug of choice. I’ve been saying for years, let’s just knock advertising on the head. Just do it. You can have your sponsorship, but every 14 seconds on TV, there’s a gambling advert. Even the ones that say ‘Stop gambling’ or ‘Gamble responsibly’ - for an addict, that’s just: ‘Gamble.’”
Adams also advocates for an end to the free bets that gambling companies frequently offer. Unlike alcoholism, addictions of this kind are trickier to spot. “You can’t breathalyse someone who’s three times over the gambling limit,” says Adams. “Most people are (placing their bets) on the phone now anyway. You can’t see it.”
Életmű és személyes mérföldkövek
Tony Adams játékosként négy bajnoki címet, három FA-kupát, két Ligakupát, két angol Szuperkupát és egy Kupagyőztesek Európa Kupáját nyert az Arsenallal, amelyben 575 mérkőzésen lépett pályára. Tony Adams may not have a Euro 96 winners’ medal to gaze at, but his book is still a celebration. “It’s about someone living a fantastic life because he’s got recovery,” says Adams. “People ask what my proudest achievement is - maybe winning the Cup Winners’ Cup with Arsenal? No, it’s not wetting the bed for 30 years.”
Adams is searingly honest. To tell this story, he needs to be. “It’s what happened to a man,” he shrugs.